An Eastside Farm Chronicle Update

Things have been pretty hectic around here lately. I realized that I haven't done a follow up to several stories, namely the problem with Callebaut's bloat, the chicken that was attacked by the dogs, and Ginger, my sweet little zipper necked girl.

Callebaut is first. His bloat seems to be under control. Good news. He is on a better quality dog food, following the advice of our vet to only feed our dogs food that lists the meat, not meat by-products, first. Done. We also have cut back on his food 'cause he was a bit on the chunky side. He also has been taking pills, happily because they are embedded in a spoon of peanut butter, that helps with his "motility". He is also not supposed to tank up on water, which he used to do every night, and can only take a good drink two hours after he has eaten. With everything we have done for him, he is now showing off a very shiny coat and a more defined waistline. Actually, he is looking very fine, indeed!

Now Ginger's news...sigh...
Ginger's tumor is malignant. It is squamous cell cancer and it has gone into the blood vessels in the vicinity of the tumor along with her lymph glands. This is not good. I will be taking her back in to our vet in 3 weeks. In 2 weeks I am to begin checking the same location to see if the tumor has grown back. The vet believes a tumor will pop up on or in her somewhere in the near future.
I am incredibly saddened with all of this and I can't help but feel deflated. I just want to spend quality time with her because I don't know how much time we will have together.

The Chicken: Honey West survived the dog attack with fierceness and strength. There is actually a story but I will save it for the next posting.

The Remodeled Hen House: Farmer Jeff and I are still exhausted from the day/night of the remodel. The girls are still adjusting to it and are gifting more eggs! That is very good news! Farmer Jeff has gone back in and added more perches, which will help the girls to get a better night's sleep. They are still wandering aimlessly in the coop when heading off to bed because they have not figured out the sleeping assignments. Once they determine who will sleep where and with whom, life will drift back to normalcy and tranquility.

The Composters: Is this a new subject for the blog? Hm...I think so! Farmer Jeff found 2 big composters on Craigslist and we are now composting all of our green matter from the restaurant! We are most excited by this new achievement. We have discovered the key ingredient for acceleratingly the compost...Chicken Poop! Um...we just happen to have a LOT of chicken poop! We are going to be cranking out compost and then using it in the garden once we have aged it.

Life, on the whole, is good. Living on the farm has really driven home the cycle of life. We see it on a daily basis. I love the new growth, little chicks, flowers, leaves budding. That is the fun part. The slow decline of the garden teaches me that there is nothing I can do to stop it. What I don't want to face is death. It is as much a part of life as...living. Doesn't make it easier.

Think good thoughts about a pussy cat.

Critter Update

Both Ginger and Callebaut are fine now. Ginger was supposed to go in the vet this morning for a little post-op check up and she WOULD NOT go in the cat carrier. We are talking BIG HISSY FIT. Heavens! This fit included long and sharp toe nails along with a snakelike backward movement. She must have been watching Eli Manning's 4th quarter move 'cause no matter how hard I tried to hold on to her, she just squirmed away. Of course, it didn't help that Callebaut was trying to help and ended up just providing a distraction to me. My name really is Mud with Ginger right now.

As for Callebaut, we ended up at Canine Emergency at 10 pm on Friday night 'cause he was doing his old licking lips, walking in circles, pawing at his mouth...and the last time he did that he had bloat. There is nothing sweet, gentle or kind about that word. It really paints an ugly picture and it is deadly for dogs if their bloated tummy turns.

Luckily we got a doctor that remembered to ask the question: do you raise his food? Hm...well, yes, as a matter of fact we do. I learned you are NOT supposed to do that!!! At least not in his case! I seem to be contributing to the problem.

The end result, we are now feeding him 3 small meals: 8 am, 4 pm and midnight. We are also not supposed to be letting him drink much water for 2 hours after he eats. In addition to all of these instructions, he also gets a thyroid pill. My chubby baby really does have a glandular problem!

We are all enjoying a quiet and sunny day today. After 14 days of straight rain, I thought I would lose my mind, but the sun has come out. Joy...oh joy!